Three reasons it’s important to get the details of the other driver in a vehicle accident

This might seem obvious but when Police attend an accident you may be fooled into thinking that they have it all in hand. Or if the other party (or a witness) takes your details and says they’ll send you theirs, beware! While insurers can obtain the details of third parties from the Police, both the Police and insurers won’t release that information to anyone else, citing privacy restrictions.

This means that if you need to get in touch with them for any other reason you will need to take down their details at the accident site. There are three key reasons for doing so.

Excess and No Claims Bonus

Firstly, if you were not at fault your insurer will recover the cost of your claim from the other party’s insurer (or from them directly if uninsured). This means the claim won’t affect your no claims bonus and your excess will be waived (as the other insurer will pay it). If your insurer can’t do this you will need to pay the excess the claim cost sits against your policy and you’ll lose your no claims bonus.

Recovery of Uninsured Losses

Secondly, if you have suffered uninsured losses, such as lost income or replacement vehicle hire costs, you may want to pursue the third party through the disputes tribunal. In some cases your insurer can pursue these costs on your behalf, for example if they are also seeking recovery of their claim costs through a disputes process or the third party’s insurer.

Access to Right2Drive Hire Vehicle

Thirdly, if the third party was at fault and insured you may be able to secure a Right2Drive hire vehicle free of charge while yours is off the road. However, Right2Drive is only available when you can supply them with the other driver’s contact details, and ideally the name of their insurer too.

Download our Vehicle Accident Checklist, print it out and keep it in your vehicle just in case.